Is it illegal to use VPN in UAE?[Laws updated 2023]

When you live in a country that is not your home country, you need to be cautious about the local laws and the way the authorities respond when you break them, whether it’s intentionally or not.

Knowing all local laws is extremely important when it comes to online activity, since it is a relatively new phenomena and countries react differently depending on their government and culture.

Currently, UAE is among the most popular and vibrant places for study, living, and working in Mena region, as well as worldwide.

In modern cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi you can live with the highest quality of life and No one wants to lose the opportunity of living there or even worst getting fine for some activity that you didn’t know it was against the law of United Arab Emirates.

According to AtlasVPN, United Arab Emirates has the highest usage rate of VPN apps. What are the reasons for this?

Based on our investigation Residence of UAE use VPN for many reasons here is some of the most important ones:

• Bypassing Internet restrictions for some blocked content and websites

• Unblocking VoIP service such as Whatsapp call, skype, facetime and …

• Playing games such as Roblox , that is blocked in UAE

• Streaming and accessing to other countries content on Netflix, HULU, Hotstar,..

• Increasing online privacy and protect personal data while accessing to public wifi
  

Due to all these reasons, UAE internet users install a VPN app on their iOS or Android devices.

So, if UAE government authorities block websites and apps, isn’t using a VPN illegal?

In UAE, Internet censorship is regulated by an organization called Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA)

According to what they have announced so far about legality of using a VPN in UAE :

“Using a VPN is only illegal if it’s used to commit a crime or facilitate a crime.”

Therefore, if you are in UAE and use your VPN to make voice calls or stream Hotstar or Netflix, you have not committed a crime and you should not worry about being fined or arrested

Can you recommend a VPN app which is verified by UAE authorities to be a legal VPN?

There are many VPN apps available in UAE, including free ones and paid ones.

As of the writing of this article, none of them have the UAE’s endorsement.

Even if you heard of a government VPN or free VPN app in UAE that makes free calls and unblocks websites, you’d better avoid using it since authorities can spy on you and track you everywhere. As a result, all your personal information could potentially be exposed.

You’re in good hands with MenaVPN!

MenaVPN is a Dutch company and our headquarter is in Netherlands so we comply with European Union privacy protection law.

It means while you are connected to MenaVPN and use internet, you are 100% anonymous and your connection is safe.

So you can use MenaVPN with no concern of being watched by any authority at any country or any other third party.

It is the author’s opinion of UAE’s laws, and users who read this article should do their own research and use VPN in UAE at their own risk.